Princess Althea
Princess Althea is a major character featured in the eighth Dark Parables game The Little Mermaid and the Purple Tide. '' She is one of the five Princesses of Prasino, cursed to take the form of a mermaid. Princess Althea, like all her sisters, is loosely based on Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid. Appearance and Personality Princess Althea has long, dark red hair, pale skin and gray eyes with silver scales along her eyelids. As a mermaid, she is adorned with a crown made of corals and her upper body clothed in pale green seaweed and net with purple sea flowers decorating her shoulders and top. Her arms fade from pale to dark purple to black near the hands and she has frilly fins along her biceps. She has a long fish-like tail with four long purple-blue wing-like fins along the sides and ends in a large dark pink-purple tail fin outlined in black. Her scales are iridescent and change from silvery-green to different shades of blue, depending on the light. In human form, she wears gloves that resemble her arm fins and a frilly dark green dress edged with deep purple. Her red hair is tied up in a half-ponytail held by a jewel pin and is much brighter and curlier in her human form and she wears a jewelled aigrette or diadem in the ancient Cretan style. On the waistline of her dress, she wears an ornate gold belt. Althea loves her family and will do anything for them. She searched endlessly for the Wood Orb, not just for herself but also for her father. She is torn between doing what is right and doing what her father wants her to do. She knows some of the things her father does are wrong, but she tends to support him even when doing so goes against her better nature. History Althea lives in Prasino, a seaside kingdom near Crete in the Mediterranean sea. She has three elder sisters (Princess Naida, Princess Calliope, Princess Theresa) and one younger sister (Princess Daphne), but sadly her mother died after a long battle with a wasting illness. For many years, Althea's kingdom was at war with the Kingdom of Kokkino - a rival seaside kingdom that was jealous of Prasino's favor with the Sea Goddess. The battles between the two kingdoms would ultimately bring an end to Althea's life on land. Due to her father's betrayal and imprisonment of the Sea Goddess, the Kingdom of Prasino was sunken to the sea floor and the entire royal family was turned into sea creatures. Althea and her sisters took on the forms of mermaids, while King Alexandros took on the form of a monstrous crab beast. The only cure for the curse that fell upon the Princesses were for them to each find an elemental orb belonging to a great machine within the Prasino palace. For the King to reverse his curse, he needed his daughters to find the orbs, and then use those orbs to power on the machine itself. Doing so would ultimately release the imprisoned Goddess and reverse the curse on the King. The Princesses searched for centuries and, in time, all found their orbs and continued on with their human lives, except for Althea. As much as she wanted to find her orb, Althea also feared what would happen when she did so. Each time an orb had been found, the sea had become more polluted and more fish had died. She feared what might happen when her father powered on the machine, but she also wanted to be human again, and see her father freed from the curse that had turned him into a bitter, cruel man. Unbeknownst to Althea, the Wood Orb she was searching for was in the chest of a young puppet-turned-human, Pinocchio. It was only when Pinocchio's orb began to weaken and he began to revert back to his puppet-self that the young man set out to find the legendary Kingdom of Prasino in order to charge it once again. Althea hadn't expected the Wood Orb to come to her, but once it did, she set her father's Eel Monster to capture Pinocchio. Unfortunately, the Eel Monster was cranky and hungry and ate Pinocchio whole instead of just taking him for Althea. She complained to her father about this, only to be told to get the orb out of the eel, no matter what it took. The Fairytale Detective got the orb first and even charged it, but Althea easily stole it from her and Pinocchio. Once the orb was in her hands, Althea transformed back into a mortal human. She then ran off to bring the orb to her father. He activated the machine and was transformed back into a mortal man, but was quickly overcome by the strength of the power coursing through him. He pushed Althea away in time to keep her from being affected by it. The Fairytale Detective used the Staff of the Ancients to save the King, which released the Sea Goddess from her imprisonment. The vengeful Goddess flooded Prasino again, leaving Althea and her father to the mercy of the sea. Thankfully, they managed to make it to shore. With the Detective's help, her father removed the blood bond he'd put the Sea Goddess under. Now placated, she calmed the seas. Now freed from their curses and free to live out the rest of their human lives, Althea and her father happily promised to find a way to restore Pinocchio. Category:CharactersPowers and Abilities '''As a Mermaid:' * Immortality:'' ''Althea can live forever without aging and she cannot die naturally. She is also immune to the poison of the the purple tide. * Eel Monster:'' ''Althea can control the eel and make it do what she wants. * Swimming:'' ''With her powerful fish tail, Althea can dart through the water as fast as a fish. Her fins can propel her into the air like a dolphin. When she is within the air bubble around Prasino, she can fly (levitate) or rather swim through the air. * Underwater Breathing:'' ''As well as being able to breathe air like a land walker, Althea can breathe underwater like a fish. Althea lost these powers after being returned to her human form. As a Human: * Artistic Skills: Althea is known for her painting, her room is an art studio. Relationships * King Alexandros (father) * Queen of Prasino (mother, deceased) * Princess Naida (eldest sister, deceased) * Princess Calliope (elder sister, deceased) * Princess Theresa (elder sister, deceased) * Princess Daphne (younger sister, fate unknown) * Prince James (brother-in-law, deceased) * Thalassa (enemy?) * Eel Monster (servant, unknown) Trivia *Althea is a Greek name and is derived from the word άλθος (althos) which means "healing" in Greek. *Like her sister Naida, Althea's appearance might have been inspired by Ariel from Disney's The Little Mermaid. *Althea is represented by emerald, a birthstone of May and a symbol of youth in the age of man, hope, future, revival and growth. The gemstone could refer to the princess' future of becoming human again as well as her future and growth. Quotes Quotes by Princess Althea * "You should leave. This place is too dangerous for landwalkers." * "You must leave before my father comes! He hates landwalkers." * "Father, that boy had the orb, but your eel swallowed him whole!" * "You may be our last hope." Quotes about Princess Althea * "It's as if the Princess was ready to sacrifice anything for the sake of her father." * "She looks weary of everything." * "The Princess ended up being quite helpful." Galleries Character= LM - Althea stuck under a boat.png|Althea stuck under a boat althea at entrance.jpg|Althea at the Prasino Palace Entrance althea smiles.jpg|Althea's Dark Smile althea and eel.jpg|Althea and the Eel althea sics eely.jpg|Althea Sics the Eel on Pinocchio althea explains.jpg|Althea Apologizes althea king behind gate.jpg|Althea and the King Behind Gate althea spying.jpg|Althea Spying on the Detective pinocchio bout to get robbed.jpg|Althea Leaping Out to Steal the Orb pinocchio gettin robbed.jpg|Althea Steals the Orb althea closed eyes.jpg|Althea with Closed Eyes althea thief face.jpg|Althea Smirking althea turns human.jpg|Althea Turns Human althea human smile.jpg|Althea Turns Human althea running away.jpg|Althea Running Off with the Orb althea king throne room.jpg|Althea Gives the King the Wood Orb althea piranha trap.jpg|Althea Trapped by Piranhas althea in viewing room.jpg|Princess Althea in the Viewing Room althea enters machine king.jpg|Althea Enters the Machine Room king althea stay back.jpg|The King Tells Althea to Get Back power is too great.jpg|"The Power Is Too Great" king althea machine room.jpg|King and Althea in the Machine Room althea king knocked out.jpg|Althea Goes to Her Father's Side althea crawling seashore.jpg|Althea Crawls to Shore an end to madness.jpg|"Let's Put an End to This Madness" althea king pinocchio ending.jpg|Althea with Her Father and Pinocchio |-|Concept Art= LM Althea.png|Althea concept art lm mermaid concepts.jpg|Mermaid Althea concept art DB0AA989-AF64-49E2-890F-F573980E2C55.jpeg|Eipix art |-|Depictions= puzzle emerald mermaid.jpg|Althea Represented on Goddess Temple Door Mural Prasino royal family shell.jpg|Royal Family Portrait on Seashell Prasino royal family portrait.jpg|Royal Family Portrait in Balcony Room althea chamber door.jpg|Althea's Chamber Door althea door portrait.jpg|Althea's Door Portrait althea daphne human portrait.jpg|Althea and Daphne in Family Portrait althea-diffgem.jpg|Althea Difficulty Gem Princesses portrait.jpg |-|Game Promos= Qosmoregames-lmatpt.jpg|Promo Image from Queen of Sands mcf-dp-upsell.jpg|Dark Parables Upsell Image Tlm-trailer-thumb.jpg|Trailer Thumbnail Tlm-ios-icon.jpeg|iOS Icon Tlm-ios-promo.jpg|iOS Promo Tlm-eipix-miniban.png|Eipix Banner Tlm-cab-bannerce.jpg|Cabana Games CE Banner Tlm-bfg-promo.jpg|BFG Editor's Choice Tlm-bfg-adban.jpg|BFG Newsletter Promo Tlm-abso-icon.jpg|Absolutist Icon Tlm-abso-banner.jpg|Absolutist Banner Eipix-upsell-myths.png|New Eipix Upsell (2016) dark-parables-little-mermaid-purple-tide-ce_feature.jpg|Althea in Collector's Edition Icon Althea 2.jpg Tlm-eipix-upsell.jpg DP8-eipix-banner.jpg Dp8-fb-cover.jpg Dp8-steam.jpg Dp8-ad-banner-1.jpg |-|Other Images= princess althea room.jpg|Princess Althea's Studio Chambers Lm menu without menu.jpg|Althea from Main Menu Lm loading continue.jpg|Althea from Loading Screen lm credits background.jpg|Althea and Alexandros, Credits Background althea icon.jpg|Althea's Conversation Icon DP wallpaper01 1920x1080.jpg|Mermaid Althea Wallpaper DP wallpaper05 1920x1080.jpg|Althea and Eel Wallpaper DP wallpaper02 1920x1080.jpg|Human Althea Wallpaper Althea 2.jpg|Title Banner althea diary.jpg|Althea's Diary althea.jpg|Steam Trading Card althea2.jpg|Steam Trading Card dp08-steam-site3.jpg|Steam Site Background dp08-steam-site4.jpg|Steam Site Background DP8 Beta.png Category:A to Z Category:Characters Category:Females Category:Humans Category:Antagonists Category:Allies Category:Bestiary Category:Hybrids Category:Mermaids Category:Royalty Category:Princesses Category:Prasino Princesses Category:Prasino Royal Family Category:The Little Mermaid and the Purple Tide